BEATRICE – A Beatrice couple is easing back from their Court Street home care business, but planning to keep it all in the family.


Rick and Linda Clabaugh are selling their Home Instead business to their son Tyler and his wife Lindsey…who returned to the Beatrice area from Topeka, Kansas.
"They're both from here and Lindsey has family here and a good support system....they've got twin little girls who are three and a six-year-old boy, so they're busy....and we're going to get to spend more time with them."


The Clabaughs took over the business in 2016, when Linda Clabaugh says there few staff members and a small group of clients. Now, Rick and Linda are excited to have Tyler and Lindsey take over the reins.


"They've got the youth...with the I.T. part of it....I'm still old school...paper and talk on the phone, that sort of thing. Rick and I are just thrilled to have them back to take it over and continue what we've done. And, as far as the business is now, with the pandemic and Covid....it's just crazy busy," Linda says.


The business is hiring care givers for a service region that extends west to the Fairbury area…..north to Clatonia….east to Falls City and Nebraska City ….and south into northern Kansas.  Tyler and Lindsey still manage a group of Topeka Jimmy Johns restaurants. But, the timing was good for a move back to Beatrice. The transition isn’t immediate. New owners undergo extensive training with Home Instead over several weeks, and Lindsey said that’s just getting underway….by online means during the pandemic.


"We had to go through an extensive approval process and it did take quite a while. They really want to do a thorough job in who they select to do this. There was, like four thousand candidates and they only choose about seventy five. We felt really fortunate that we were part of that group."


Lindsey says good caregivers have a few key traits. "To be honest I can usually tell within the first fifteen seconds of meeting somebody, if they're that person. Also, somebody who's dependable and reliable...somebody who's going to make it to that shift and make sure the client is taken care of. We don't require any certifications, no licenses. We do training and that's one thing we're looking forward to, this year."


Tyler Clabaugh says managing in the restaurant industry has similarities to the home care industry.


"That was one of the things they actually talked to us about when we were going through the approval process, that they have a lot of restaurant people who get into this type of business. That's always their favorite type of people because its always changing...fast paced...pressure situations, and that's kind of the same thing. We have fifty seven caregivers right now, and things are changing every day....especially now with the pandemic. People are coming and going a lot...and I just think its a lot of good experience, managing a lot of people."


Lindsey said clients should be assured that high standards of care will continue.


"Just because it's a change of ownership, that doesn't mean we're going to change the type of service we're providing. We're really going to maintain that high quality of service that Rick and Linda were providing....and I just want to tell everyone, none of that is changing just because Ty and I are taking over. We plan to continue that."


Tyler says his parents established a solid foundation for the business. The couple were also long-time owners and operators of Clabaugh Pharmacy in Beatrice, now owned and managed by Tyler’s brother, Nate.